The General Manager Corner: Free Agent Defensemen
Apr 16, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Matt Niskanen (2) shoots and scores as Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman David Savard (58) and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (72) defend during the second period in game one of the first round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the CONSOL Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Matt Niskanen
The 27-year old Niskanen leads this crop of free agent defensemen. He is coming off his most productive season in the NHL where he notched 10 goals and 36 assists for the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was originally acquired from Dallas along with James Neal for Alex Goligoski (holy highway robbery Batman) and provided the Penguins plenty of bang for their buck with a $2,300,000 cap hit this past season. It wouldn’t shock me to see his price tag triple over the next few weeks over a six or seven-year contract. There are some questions about how effective he’ll be away from Pittsburgh, but 27-year old top pairing defensemen don’t grow on trees either. He may not be a 45+ point producer elsewhere, but 35 to 40 points is reasonable. Plus if you’re a fan of fancy stats, his CF% rel. is 7.3%, highest among unrestricted free agent defensemen.
The General Manager Prediction: how many teams would love to add a top pairing defensemen to their team? Unfortunately for many of them, it’s going to take some serious money to lure Niskanen since this will probably be his first and only big payday. The Penguins would love to retain his services, but unless they move out significant salary, there is just no way they can afford to throw another $6 million or more in salary onto its cap sheet. With that, the Colorado Avalanche make a lot of sense to sign him and think they’ll shell out the big bucks to get him. The team is on the rise and in need of a top-pairing defensemen. For Niskanen he’ll get the opportunity to play for a young, exciting, explosive team and have plenty of power play time. Oh yeah, he’ll also probably get around $6.5 million annually the next seven years. Not bad at all.
Darkhorse Team: Detroit Red Wings